New plaque to Shane MacThomáis.

A new plaque to Shane MacThomais was unveiled yesterday at Glasnevin Cemetery. Shane was the resident historian of the cemetery for many years, and the author of an excellent history of the important site, Glasnevin: Ireland’s Necropolis. A documentary about the cemetery, entitled One Million Dubliners , recently won the Best Irish Feature Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh, and thankfully it will be airing in a number of Dublin cinemas later in the year. The plaque will be placed just inside the main entrance to the Cemetery opposite the museum.

This recent video captures Glasnevin using a drone camera, giving some beautiful views over the historic site and should be all tne encouragement any reader who hasn’t yet visited the cemetery will need to make the trip:

One thing the new documentary explores is the manner in which certain graves attract huge attention, in particular the final resting place of Michael Collins. Some others are almost hidden away. Shane once remarked to my father that Ernie O’Malley’s grave was one that fell into the later category, rarely attracting the attention of visitors. O’Malley’s huge contribution to the revolutionary period in Ireland is like something from a Hollywood blockbuster at times, and his fantastic memoirs of the period, in particular On Another Man’s Wound, played no small part in developing my love of Ireland’s history. We thought that perhaps the best tribute to Shane would be to leave flowers on Ernie’s grave yesterday.

My father, Ernie O’Malley, is there in Glasnevin along with his parents and Charlie, the first to die in Ireland – killed in unCivil War on July 4, 1922 just off O’Connell Street while sniping against the Free State troops. The Malley family are not in the Republican Plot.